March 2024 Volunteer of the Month - Mark Robbins

Mark was born on Thanksgiving Day in Santaquin, Utah, as the youngest of 11 children. He attended elementary School in the Chieftain building, which is now our museum, then graduated from Payson High School. After graduation, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Wisconsin, Minnesota. His daughter, Raeya, is following in his footsteps to serve a mission in Guatemala and leaves this month.

After Mark’s mission, he earned his technical degree as an electrician and was valedictorian of his class at Utah Technical College. He is now retired as an electrician from Intermountain HealthCare but is still employed part-time as an instructor of electrical apprenticeship at MTEC. He loves to tinker in many things, including big machinery, and loves to help operate them. From this, he has helped run many water and sewage lines for the city of Santaquin. 

For approximately the past 32 years, Mark has volunteered to run our Orchard Days Fireworks Show.  Robert Fleming, Kurt Blackburn, Ricky Butrum, Nelson Abbott, Nate Newsom, Raeya Robbins and Thad Walker, among 12 to 15 others, work alongside Mark each year to pull off a fantastic show. He is a licensed pyrotechnician in the states of Utah and Nevada and volunteers four to five shows a year for nearby cities. Mark has always been a community supporter and for many years helped create floats for the Santaquin Orchard Days parades.

Mark has always been very talented in many ways, loves music, and plays the tuba in the Payson City Band. He has also been a DJ for several years and loves dancing, which led him to becoming a dance instructor at Snow College and start the Western Dance Club. The club goes all over Utah County teaching dance for both youth and adults. Mark also loves animals and raises many on his family farm. Him and his daughter currently own about 100 female goats who kid about 200 to 300 babies each spring. He also trains Border Collies for herding. 

We are honored to recognize Mark Robbins for the many years of service to the community. He has a true spirit of volunteerism and is a wonderful example to both young and old in our city. Thank you Mark!